Chapter 6: The First Move

Three months passed after I arrived in Switzerland.

I never called Reed.

I never answered his messages.

At first, he sent dozens of them every day.

“Fernanda, we need to talk.”

“Come home. We can work this out.”

“Your parents’ burial site is still waiting for you.”

I deleted every message without opening it.

Eventually, his messages became less frequent.

Then they stopped altogether.

I thought I would feel relieved.

Instead, I felt strangely empty.

Not because I missed him.

Because I had finally accepted that the man I loved had never been the man I thought he was.

My new life in Zurich moved quickly.

Within three months, I had taken control of the firm's European expansion.

The board had expected me to spend years proving myself.

I did it in weeks.

Clients who had once ignored my calls now requested meetings directly with me.

My name began appearing in financial publications.

Fernanda Alvarez.

Partner. International Division.

No Ferraro beside it.

No husband's name.

Just mine.

One afternoon, Clara entered my office carrying a thick folder.

“We have a problem.”

I looked up from my laptop.

“What kind?”

She placed the folder on my desk.

“Ferraro Holdings.”

My fingers stopped moving.

“They’re bidding for the same acquisition we’re pursuing.”

I opened the file.

The target was a luxury hospitality group with properties across Europe and Asia.

It was worth billions.

And according to the documents, Ferraro Holdings had entered the race only two weeks earlier.

I stared at Reed’s name.

For three months, I had deliberately stayed away from his world.

Now his world had come looking for me.

“Withdraw,” I said.

Clara blinked.

“Are you sure?”

“We don't need to fight them.”

She hesitated.

“There’s something else.”

She slid another document toward me.

“Ferraro Holdings submitted a revised proposal this morning.”

I scanned the numbers.

My eyes narrowed.

The offer was designed specifically to undercut ours.

“They know our valuation.”

Clara nodded.

“Someone leaked our internal figures.”

I closed the folder.

“Find out who.”

That evening, I received a call from an unfamiliar number.

I answered reluctantly.

“Fernanda?”

I recognized the voice immediately.

Reed.

My hand tightened around the phone.

“How did you get this number?”

“You changed it.”

“That wasn't an answer.”

He exhaled.

“I needed to talk to you.”

“We have nothing to talk about.”

“You’re competing against my company.”

I leaned back in my chair.

“Your company?”

“You mean the company I helped build while you were sleeping with my best friend?”

Silence.

For once, Reed had no immediate response.

Then he said quietly, “I never wanted things to end this way.”

I laughed.

“Neither did I.”

“Then come back.”

My smile disappeared.

“No.”

“Fernanda—”

“You should be careful, Reed.”

“You taught me how business works.”

“You taught me how to survive.”

I paused.

“I learned both lessons very well.”

Before he could answer, I ended the call.

The next morning, I gave Clara a new instruction.

“Reopen the acquisition.”

She stared at me.

“You want to compete?”

I nodded.

“Not because of Reed.”

I looked at the city beyond my office window.

“Because I refuse to let him decide what I can have anymore.”

Across the ocean, Reed received our revised proposal.

He read it once.

Then twice.

His face slowly changed.

The woman who had once depended on him was now his strongest competitor.

And for the first time, Reed realized something terrifying.

He had spent eight years teaching Fernanda how to become powerful.

He had simply forgotten to consider what she might do with that power once she no longer loved him.